by Maria Atilano
ZAMBOANGA CITY—Entry to the City is not possible yet these days as Mayor Beng Climaco recently declared recently that the existing moratorium on locally stranded individuals (LSIs) travelling to Zamboanga City remains in effect with its possible lifting has not on the chief executive’s agenda.
“Zamboanga City is the entry point to the provinces nearby, and thus we will have people, having been stranded outside Zamboanga, who will again be stranded upon arrival in the city as they will not be allowed entry to their respective provinces,” Climaco said.
The decree on the moratorium took effect on October 26 and remains in force till lifted. It is hence regarded as a safety measure in the decongestion of quarantine facilities and consequently ease the burden on respective local governments’ health care system. Provinces in the Zamboanga Peninsula as well as in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi island-provinces have disallowed as well entry to their areas due to the increase of COVID-19 cases in their respective places.
Such being the case, Climaco said that it has to be synchronized, referring to the simultaneous lifting of the moratorium for LSIs in other cities, municipalities and provinces in the region. In the meantime, she explained that the simultaneous or synchronized lifting will provide an opportunity to allow local government units of said provinces to work on their respective programs for their own constituents.
She reminded that in the last quarters’ situation when the City Local Government Unit admitted stranded residents from Manila and other provinces at the height of the pandemic. Climaco further pointed out that the moratorium in Zamboanga can not be lifted unless all other LGUs at the borders would likewise lift theirs. (Maria Atilano/DV)
